


Off The Record

by AristoMuse



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Angst, Anime Canon Compliant, Awkward Flirting, Drabble, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Game Canon Compliant, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Idol Industry Commentary, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Minor Violence, Mostly Follows Anime Timeline, Romance, Shining Live Compliant, Straight and Lesbian relationships, Stressful Working Conditions, Weird Mix of All, nameless reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:14:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24926755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AristoMuse/pseuds/AristoMuse
Summary: As the sole audio engineer at Shining Agency due to Saotome's weird cherry picking of employees, you're proud of your work. However, because you're theonlyaudio engineer, you're there for every idol and idol-to-be's recording sessions.Every. Single. One.Being in such small quarters with so many beautiful people, day in and day out, may lead to some...complications.
Relationships: Reader/Everyone
Comments: 15
Kudos: 32





	1. Start of the Semester

**Author's Note:**

> Got back into UTAPRI but I don't want to commit to another longfic, so hopefully this will stay as a drabble-style series. I'm so bad at making things not long lmao
> 
> Characters listed in the tags will have their own chapter, though some will have multiple depending on what's going on. The fic will follow a general timeline with a mix from the PSP games, the anime, and the mobile game, but nothing specific.
> 
> Reader will be referred to as "Senpai" since she's a senior member on staff.

"Follow me, follow me!" Ringo sang out loudly to his new class as they moved down the very long hallway. His long curly pink hair swung side to side from his twirls. "The school is very big, so it's easy to get lost if you don't know the way. Make sure not to stray behind!"

"Where do you think we're going next?" Tomochika whispered to her friend behind a well-manicured hand, "Tsukimiya-sensei already showed us the other classrooms, the library, the theater, and the music collection room."

"I'm not sure..." Haruka replied just as quietly with a small smile, "but this is exciting. I can't believe our school is so big!"

Like a mansion straight out of Europe, their new school was reminiscent of a king's or queen's domain. Every hallway inside the three-floor palace stretched wide and long, with large floor-to-ceiling windows, and decorated with plush carpeting and velvet curtains and lit with crystal chandeliers. The windows faced outside, showing everyone a clear view of the maze garden, the large fountain, and the rolling hills beyond the gates. 

While the school was situated in a remote location away from any of the cities, no one could deny that it was a privilege to be here.

Especially when this school was under the name of Shining Entertainment, the label that was home to Japan's biggest idols. 

Otoya looked around with bright red inquisitive eyes and a smile. "I can't wait to start our semester work! I'm already thinking up some lyrics." He then turned to Haruka. "Nanami, you're trying out for the composer course, right?"

"Mhm." Haruka nodded shyly. "I'll do my best!"

"Waah, you're so cute, Haru-chan," Natsuki chimed in with a dreamy expression. "Let's all do our best!"

Masato simply closed his eyes. "It would be foolish to do anything less."

The rest of the class murmured on as they walked down the ridiculously long hallway, until they found themselves in front of two large doors, with the sign above it marking it as the 'Recording Room.'

"Now," Ringo began, speaking quieter, "this is obviously the recording room. Here will be where all of you will be recording your future assignments, as well as your hits once you've been signed as an idol here. Composer students, don't think you won't be visiting; as the composer, you are to supervise when your idol records to make sure they understand the song you've written. This is where the magic happens!" He clapped his hands together. "Where composers and aspiring idols combine their ideas and create a brand new song to break the charts!"

Natsuki raised a hand. "Are we expected to learn how to work a recording booth?" he asked, curious.

"Whaaat?" Ringo waved him away. "No, nothing like that. Your job is to be idols, not audio engineers. Of course, you'll learn simple things in class about how to conduct yourselves while in a recording session, but you won't need to actually do any of the technical things. Now..." He pointed up at a panel. "That panel will let you know if someone is already in session. Since the light is off, we're free to go inside."

As Ringo moved to open the doors, Masato raised his hand as well. "Pardon the interruption, Tsukimiya-sensei, but are you suggesting this recording room is used by others as well? Not just the students?"

"Well, of course!" Ringo replied cheerfully, "Shiny wants you all to familiarize how working at Shining would be, so you'll all be recording at the same recording booth as us established idols~!"

The class immediately broke out into gossip.

"Whoa, do you think we'll end up bumping into one of them?"

"Ooo, I hope so! I want to meet some of them so bad!"

"Me too!"

Haruka hummed thoughtfully. "I wonder if we'll be meeting the sound engineers then..."

"Great question, Haru-chan!" Ringo singled her out with a beaming smile. "Change that plural into a singular, though, and you'll find out your answer right now!"

"H-Huh?!" Otoya was taken aback. "Wait- Are you saying there's only _one_ sound engineer?!"

With a cheeky wink, Ringo threw open the doors, and the class curiously peeked inside.

Rows and rows of buttons, knobs, and levers lined the advanced state-of-the-art machine that sat in front of a large rectangular window. Sleek audio monitors sat on top of the ledge, balanced carefully to allow for equal maximum volume. Two computer screens were placed right next to the audio console, displaying a carefully pieced-together track open on an audio software. Different kinds of headphones were hung on racks, ranging in quality and color. Plants were placed on various ledges and shelves to make the environment feel more natural, and adding a bit of color into an otherwise neutral room. Soft lights from above illuminated the setup perfectly, while allowing for a more comfortable environment to avoid straining eyes.

There were a few plush ottomans pushed up against the nearest wall, all facing a luxurious computer chair that had its back turned toward them. A chair that was currently occupied by someone snoring.

The students watched on in awkward silence.

Ringo placed his hands on his hips and let out a loud sigh. "Mouu~." He walked up to the chair and gently shook the person awake. "You shouldn't fall asleep here, you know."

"Mmm..." You groaned and peeked out at him with one sleepy eye. "Ringo..? What are you doing here?"

Ringo smiled, exasperated. "The new semester's started, remember? That means new students, and new students need a tour around to meet their new friend: the sound engineer."

Closing your eyes for a moment, you pushed yourself back into a sitting position and swirled your chair around to face the new students.

The new students, however, couldn't help but gape.

Dark circles. Messy hair. Dressed in a comfy cardigan and sweatpants. 

Not exactly the shining example of professionalism they had expected.

Covering up your yawn, you stood up and waved at the students with a tired smile. "Hi, good morning." You introduce your name to them and bow. "I'm the one and only audio engineer at Shining Entertainment. It's nice to meet all of you and I look forward to working together in the future."

"The-...The only?" Tomochika repeated, baffled.

You lazily nodded. "Yup. Boss wants his label's songs to have a "shining" quality to them, so he insists on having only one audio engineer to keep it consistent."

Haruka held her hands together in front of her, worried. "Isn't that too much? Um, for one person..."

"I concur," Natsuki added with a gentle frown. "There are other idols within the label that must also need to work with you. Your time must be strained."

You suddenly burst out laughing, startling the entire class sans teacher. "Hah! That's what I said, but if you're signing onto this label, you learn one thing, and that Boss always gets his way." Collapsing back onto your trusty computer chair, you gestured to the ottomans. "Take a seat, and I'll teach you some things." You glanced at a nearby clock. "Oh, but only for the next 15 minutes. This is A class, right? S class must be coming after."

You then sagged in your chair and closed your eyes. "You know what, maybe we'll wait for them to join so I can explain all of this in one shot..." You breathed out the last words, already on the verge of sleep.

The students all looked at each other.

"Um, excuse me?" Otoya raised his hand.

"Yes?" You answered without opening your eyes.

"Are you...okay? It's just, you look, well..." Otoya squirmed in his spot. "You look really tired."

"Well..." You gestured to yourself, "this is normal, unfortunately. Sorry for looking like such a slob, but honestly, unless Boss comes in to threaten firing me or offering me an assistant of some sort, this is what I'll look like for the foreseeable future."

"It seems unreasonable to have only one person oversee every single person's usage of the recording booth," Masato quietly remarked, thought it was said with a scathing bite.

You laughed a bit and covered your mouth. "Unreasonable may as well be Boss's middle name," you whispered, and some of the students laughed, causing you to grin.

"Mou~." Ringo pouted at you. "You shouldn't speak of Shiny like that. He controls your paycheck, you know."

"And I control his whole label's success," you replied with a yawn, "seriously, he should appreciate me more and let me rest. You know the other day, Ai-kun said my body's optimal level is terrible? Ai-kun of all people." You sighed. "In any case, I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Ringo asked, surprised.

"Coffee, energy drinks, anything would be nice," you mumbled as you headed toward the doors. There was a small lounge nearby that you stored all your coffee in, and the best brewer was in there, too.

Just as your hand touched the handle, however, the door swung open, smacking you in the face. With a yelp, you fell backwards, but felt powerful arms catch you at the last second.

"Oi, are you all right?"

Opening your eyes to see Ryuya's frown, you scowled. "No thanks to you. Who said you can just slam doors open like that?"

Rolling his eyes, he placed you back on your feet. "I see you're in high spirits as usual. Class S is here for their tour, remember?"

You peeked behind him to see six students of varying heights and colors, either scowling or smirking. "...Huh." You looked between Ryuya and Ringo and winced. "You guys certainly lucked out this time."

"Tell me about it..." Ryuya muttered as he massaged his neck.

"Hehe, they aren't so bad!" Ringo cheerfully added, "in fact, I'm looking forward to teaching mine!"

Regretfully forgoing the coffee, you stand in front of the audio console and looked at all the students.

They looked back at you. Some were nervous. Excited. Laid-back. Some were so calm and composed, they looked like they were unmovable. And all of them were gorgeous in some way; hair neatly combed and styled, uniforms pressed and tailored to their fit and slim bodies. Unblemished skin shining underneath the soft lighting.

Then there was you: Sallow skin from lack of sun and sleep. Hair mussed up from running your hands through it too many times. Cardigan and sweatpants for maximum comfort and warmth in an air conditioned studio.

You weren't anything special, really; not when compared to these beautiful idol-to-be's and future genius composers. However, you had something that they didn't.

Mastery of sound.

You smiled and clapped your hands together. "Welcome to Shining Academy. I look forward to hearing your songs."


	2. Kiss wa Wink de

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Reiji's birthday so I thought I should write him first hehe, happy birthday to the machaha boy <3

"Helloooo?"

A perky man peeked his head through the crack in the double doors, careful to make sure his hat didn't get knocked off in the process. He let out a fond sigh when he heard the telltale snoring that emanated from the audio console, and he strolled in with two boxes in hand.

Stopping right next to your unconscious body in your favorite chair, he peered down at you with a soft smile.

As usual, you were bundled up in warm clothes despite it being close to summer. Your hair was, for once, not sticking up in multiple directions. It was instead laying around your face, with some of the locks curling around a few volume knobs.

Reiji carefully brushed your hair away from them, preventing a rather painful experience later, and then gently shook your shoulder. "Hey, it's me," he whispered, "c'mon, wake up."

"Mmm..." Without lifting your head or even opening your eyes, you wordlessly held out a hand.

Amused, Reiji gave you his bribe: a bento from his mother's shop. "You're welcome, by the way," he said cheerfully. "Do you mind waiting for me to finish before digging in?'

Blearily opening your eyes, you smiled up at him. "Sure." You looked down at his hand and noticed a second bento box. "Oh, you want to eat together?"

He laughed sheepishly. "Hope you don't mind. I made sure to check today's schedule if you were free and all." He winked. "Besides, I'll only take one session!"

"You say that every time," you replied, amused, "but then again, you usually do." Sitting up in your chair, you gestured to the glass door that would lead into the recording booth. "Go ahead. Oh- Don't worry about using the sample track, I already have the instrumental ready for you."

Reiji perked up. "You do?! You're the best!"

Without warning, he wrapped his arms around you, bringing you close to his chest. Letting out a small yelp, you could feel your face heat up from the close proximity.

It didn't help that he was naturally very warm- a contrast to the cold environment of the recording room you basically live in- and you could even smell the various fragrances on his person, from his freshly laundered clothes that could only be described as 'bright,' the hairspray he used that had a fruity touch, and the citrus cedar perfume that the company was recently promoting him with.

Reiji had always been a nice guy, but he didn't used to be this touchy, especially with you. 

The first time you two had met was a few years ago now. You couldn't quite remember what year exactly, because it felt like Reiji had always just...been there. He had seamlessly slid into your life. In fact, he had been the only idol who didn't take you for granted when he first saw your non-professional look, unlike the others. Instead, he had greeted you with a smile as bright as a studio spotlight, and had been excited to start recording as soon as possible.

Out of everyone in Shining Entertainment, Reiji was probably your favorite.

"You're such a hard worker," Reiji cooed down at you. Pushing you back a bit, he cupped your face with his thumbs lightly tracing your dark circles. "Did you stay up to finish mixing it?" he asked, touched and concerned at the same time.

You nodded a bit shyly. "Yeah. I know how hard you've been working on this song, so I wanted to do right by you. Besides-" You began to snicker, "-it means I don't have to work on Camus' track yet."

He suddenly frowned. "Has Myu-chan been bullying you again?"

He was even straightening up, as if he was planning on heading out right this second to track the Baron down to give him a friendship lecture.

You waved him away. "Nothing I can't handle. It's just his usual 'you're a peasant' spiel. I..." You smiled softly. "I'd rather work more with you."

Reiji grinned as a response.

It could be the lighting in the room, or your still sleep-filled eyes, but you could've sworn he was blushing a bit. Then again, why would he? He had probably heard things like this all the time. Who _didn't_ want to work with Kotobuki Reiji?

"If I wasn't already ready to record earlier, I definitely am now!" he announced. Giving you another wink, he headed to the recording booth with a wave. "Let's start!'

"Right," you replied with a nod.

Turning to the console, you made sure everything was optimal. The opening of the track started with a few distinct funky beats, so you made sure that the vocal recording would be loud, but not too loud as to overpower it. Rather, they should both be balanced. Of course, the maracas had been mixed to be perfect since they were Reiji's main instrument. 

Through the thick soundproof window, Reiji gave you a thumbs up to show he was ready. He already had the headphones on, and the mic and filter were in place.

Giving him a thumbs up back, you pressed the RECORD button and counted down your fingers. Five, four--

"Listen closely to the lyrics, okay?" Reiji suddenly said through the mic, making you looked up at him confused.

He winked, his usually bright smile dialed down into what could only be described as a softer, more genuine version.

You couldn't say anything, however, as the countdown had finished and the instrumental track began to play. Reiji, as always, was right on time.

"I love you! I love you! With a wink~  
I love you! I love you! I’ll blow you a kiss~  
  
I’ll offer you my love and all that I am  
I’ll give you a present, this wonderful time!  
Don’t worry, it’s all right! It’s just for you~  
So, this super lovely time,  
Let’s spend it together!"

You watched as he sang his heart out, breath caught in your throat.

The lyrics were...Okay, they were beyond cheesy. Talking about love, winks, kisses. With the upbeat sound of the instrumental, the song was definitely not meant to be taken very seriously.

But...why did Reiji want you to listen closely? Was there a secret message somewhere?

He was absolutely brilliant, too; Reiji _belonged_ on a stage, performing with his voice and body. Here, singing in a recording booth with only you as the audience, it felt very...intimate.

By the end of the song, you almost forgot to end the recording and had to scramble for the button. Reiji looked through the window with a smile, sweat glistening from his forehead, but you kept your head down. If you hadn't, he'd be able to see how red your face was.

You gave him a thumbs up, though, to show that the recording was perfect, and he exited the booth.

"Whew!" Reiji wiped the sweat off his brow with a tissue. "I think that session went off perfectly! I poured my heart and soul into that."

"Mhm..." you answered noncommittally, making sure to look away. "Um...Reiji?"

"Hm? What's up?"

"Why...uh, why did you say that?" you stammered, "you know- before we started recording? What did you mean?"

He tilted his head, confused. "Was I not clear enough? You listened to the lyrics, right?"

You squirmed in your chair. "Yeah, but- I always listen, don't I?"

Chuckling, Reiji spun your chair so you had no choice to face him, and he pulled you up so you were standing. "Then you get it, don't you? My lyrics?" he said with a tender, soothing voice. "'I’ll offer you my love and all that I am. I’ll give you a present, this wonderful time. Don’t worry, it’s all right. It’s just for you~ So, this super lovely time, let’s spend it together.'"

The fact that he was reciting those lyrics to you without the loud, booming singing voice he was using earlier made it feel so affectionate, and you were definitely blushing.

Also, there was definitely no chance of interpreting those lyrics any other way.

"You...You like me?" you squeaked, heart pounding a mile a minute. " _Me_?"

"Nope."

...Ouch. You couldn't help but feel a sharp stab of hurt.

His smile widened, until he was beaming. This time, you were awake enough to confirm the dash of red on his cheeks. "I don't like you. I _love_ you. Didn't you listen to my lyrics?" he asked with a pout. "For a sound engineer, you're selectively deaf to things."

Your mouth opened and closed, unable to say any words but managed to make some weird gasping noises. "Wha...Y-Y-You're serious?"

He nodded. His smile disappeared, and a rare solemn look replaced it. "I know it's against the rules, but you're always here, you know? Whether or not I'm actually happy, or if I'm in a bad mood. _You're always here_. You're the one constant in my life that I can count on now." 

Taking hold of your hand, Reiji brought them up to bestow a kiss upon the back. "I see you when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm angry and _frustrated_ \- and you always greet me with a smile. You get me. You'll even neglect your own health for my career." Looking up, his serious gaze locked with your surprised ones. "My career isn't worth more than you. You're my girl. My one and only."

You were left speechless. 

Sure, there had been times when you two had bonded over the years, especially after a close friend had disappeared. But love? He loved you? 

"...I bet you say this to all the girls," you mumbled.

A mirthless smile appeared on his face. "Don't all idols? But," his hand tightened around yours, "I mean it with you. The fans only see what I want them to see, but you see all of me."

Heart stuck in your throat, you ducked your head and hesitantly took a step closer. The enticing scent of his cedar perfume drifted near your senses, bringing a sense of comfort to you.

"So?" Reiji quietly prompted, "is there an answer for me?"

Licking your lips, you opened your mouth to answer- 

And your stomach answered for you in the form of a loud, hungry growl.

A moment of shocked silence permeated the room, before Reiji burst out into laughter. "Haha! Well, if anything, I know you want me for my food!" He winked. "How about it? Can I convince you through your stomach?"

Embarrassed, you looked up at him and raised a challenging brow. "You can try."

He clapped. "Challenge accepted!" Directing you to the small table you had in the corner next to the ottomans, he opened the bentos, showing a mouth-watering display of onigiri, karaage, salad, and furikake rice. 

Bending down to give you a daring kiss on the cheek, Reiji took a seat opposite of you and snapped his chopsticks in two. "You'll fall in love with me in no time," he said with a grin.

Scoffing, you instead began to eat.

You didn't have to say you had already fallen for him long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late, and not the best, but happy birthday again to Reiji!
> 
> I even drew a quick birthday sketch for him [here](https://twitter.com/AristoMuse/status/1282695095708463104)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are loved and appreciated!
> 
> Check me out at [Twitter](https://twitter.com/AristoMuse) for fic updates, art, and a chat!


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